Notice of open competitions — Administrators (AD 5/AD 7) specialising in legal research — EPSO/AD/295/15 — Lawyers with Bulgarian legal training (BG) — EPSO/AD/296/15 — Lawyers with German legal training (DE) — EPSO/AD/297/15 — Lawyers with Croatian legal training (HR) — EPSO/AD/298/15 — Lawyers with Irish legal training (IE) — EPSO/AD/299/15 — Lawyers with Lithuanian legal training (LT) — EPSO/AD/300/15 — Lawyers with Slovak legal training (SK)
Date: 2015-02-26
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: Bulgaria, Croatia, EPSO, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia, administrator, competition (EU), legal profession








CA2015068EN.01000101.xml










26.2.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 68/1





NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITIONS
ADMINISTRATORS (AD 5/AD 7) SPECIALISING IN LEGAL RESEARCH
EPSO/AD/295/15 — Lawyers with Bulgarian legal training (BG)
EPSO/AD/296/15 — Lawyers with German legal training (DE)
EPSO/AD/297/15 — Lawyers with Croatian legal training (HR)
EPSO/AD/298/15 — Lawyers with Irish legal training (IE)
EPSO/AD/299/15 — Lawyers with Lithuanian legal training (LT)
EPSO/AD/300/15 — Lawyers with Slovak legal training (SK)
(2015/C 068 A/01)
 
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising open competitions, based on qualifications and tests, to draw up reserve lists from which to recruit officials as Administrators (1) for the European Union institutions, in particular the Research and Documentation Directorate of the Court of Justice in Luxembourg.







Before applying, you should carefully read the General rules governing open competitions published in the,
Official Journal of the European Union C 60 A of 1 March 2014

, and on the EPSO website. Those rules are an integral part of the competition notice.






CONTENTS








I.


GENERAL BACKGROUND












II.


DUTIES












III.


ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS












IV.


ADMISSION TO THE COMPETITION AND SELECTION BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS












V.


REMOTE INTERVIEW












VI.


ASSESSMENT CENTRE












VII.


VERIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION GIVEN BY CANDIDATES












VIII.


RESERVE LISTS




I.   GENERAL BACKGROUND













1.


Number of successful candidates sought







EPSO/AD/295/15 — BG AD 5 = 2 AD 7 = 2


EPSO/AD/296/15 — DE AD 5 = 3 AD 7 = 3


EPSO/AD/297/15 — HR AD 5 = 2 AD 7 = 2


EPSO/AD/298/15 — IE AD 5 = 2 AD 7 = 2


EPSO/AD/299/15 — LT AD 5 = 2 AD 7 = 2


EPSO/AD/300/15 — SK AD 5 = 2 AD 7 = 2











2.


Remarks






This notice covers six competitions, and two grades in each competition. You may not apply for more than one competition or more than one grade.
You must make your choice when you apply online and you will not be able to change it after you have confirmed and validated your online application form.
However,






—


if you apply for one of the competitions at grade AD 7, AND











—


if you do not meet the conditions for admission to the AD 7 competition but you do meet the conditions for admission to the AD 5 competition,
the selection board may, with your consent, reassign your application to the corresponding AD 5 competition (2).




Any such reassignment will be made on the basis of the information given in your online application and before your answers to the questions relating to the selection criteria are verified.










3.


How to apply






You must apply online, following the instructions on the EPSO website and particularly in the online application manual.

Deadline (including validation): 31 March 2015 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.




II.   DUTIES

The Research and Documentation Directorate, staffed by lawyers from all the Union’s Member States, assists the Court of Justice, the General Court, and the Civil Service Tribunal in carrying out their judicial duties and helps to disseminate European Union case law.
In particular, it has to undertake preliminary analyses of new cases and carry out research at the request of the Courts or the Tribunal in relation to cases they are dealing with. Such research may concern European Union law or the law of one or more Member States, or even that of third countries, taking a comparative law approach.
The Directorate plays a major role in the broader dissemination of the case law of the Courts and the Tribunal by carrying out a systematic analysis of their decisions and by developing research tools. It is also responsible for a number of databases.
The Directorate’s lawyers assist in all these tasks according to their grade.


Grade AD 5 Administrators
:






—


analysis of case law of the three courts,










—


preliminary analysis of new cases,










—


research work, in particular as regards their national law,










—


monitoring national and Union law.






Grade AD 7 Administrators
:






—


coordination and revision, involving a high degree of responsibility, as regards:






—


analysis of judgments of the courts of the European Union,










—


preliminary analysis of new cases; research and monitoring in the fields of national, European Union, comparative and international law,














—


steering projects relating to law and monitoring major IT projects that require high-level legal expertise,










—


designing and/or refining legal research tools and tools for disseminating the national and European Union law analysed by the Directorate.




Two aspects of the Directorate’s work must be highlighted from the outset:






1.


Besides a very good knowledge of European Union law, the duties involved require an extensive, in-depth, and up-to-date knowledge of the lawyer’s own national law and excellent legal research skills.










2.


The requirements of the service dictate that the Research and Documentation Directorate’s lawyers must have a good knowledge of French.




III.   ELIGIBILITY



On the closing date for online applications
, you must fulfil all the following general and specific conditions:












1.


General conditions














(a)


You must be a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union.










(b)


You must enjoy your full rights as a citizen.










(c)


You must have fulfilled any obligations imposed on you by the laws on military service.










(d)


You must meet the character requirements for the duties involved.














2.


Specific conditions








2.1.



Degrees and diplomas


Grade AD 5

A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by the diploma in law indicated below.

Grade AD 7

A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least four years attested by the diploma in law indicated below.
The diploma in law must relate to the legal system covered by the competition chosen (see below).
To determine whether a candidate has attained a level corresponding to completed university studies, the selection board will take into account the rules in force at the time when the diploma was awarded.

Diploma in Bulgarian law:

Удостоверява се с българска диплома за завършено висше юридическо образование ‘магистър по право’

Diploma in German law:

Juristische Ausbildung im deutschen Recht, die mit dem zweiten Juristischen Staatsexamen abgeschlossen wurde.

Diploma in Croatian law:

Diploma iz hrvatskog prava stečena na sveučilišnom studiju.

Diploma in Irish law:

A degree in law awarded by an Irish university or qualification as a barrister or a solicitor in Ireland.
Céim sa dlí ó ollscoil Éireannach nó cáilíocht mar abhcóide nó aturnae a bheith bainte amach agat in Éirinn.

Diploma in Lithuanian law:

Kandidatai turi turėti universitetinį išsilavinimą Lietuvos teisės srityje, patvirtintą teisės bakalauro ar teisės magistro diplomu arba juos atitinkančiu diplomu, suteikiančiu teisininko kvalifikaciją.

Diploma in Slovak law:

Vysokoškolské štúdium v oblasti slovenského práva ukončené diplomom z odbor u právo, ktorý umožňuje pokračovať vzdelávanie v doktorandskom študijnom programme.




2.2.



Professional experience


AD 5 competition:
No professional experience is required.

AD 7 competition:
At least six years’ professional experience relevant for the duties.
Experience of legal research acquired while preparing for a doctorate may be counted as professional experience, up to a maximum of two years, and only if the doctorate has actually been obtained.




2.3.



Knowledge of languages
 (3)





 


The Research and Documentation Directorate has to cover all the Member States of the European Union to ensure that it can assist the three courts in their judicial duties through legal research and analysis in the field of the Member States’ national law and European Union law.
The choice of languages required for the tests reflects the needs of the service, in particular the need for lawyers from the legal systems of certain Member States that are not yet covered by an official in the service.




Language 1



Main language (minimum required level: C1) A thorough knowledge of the language of the competition

EPSO/AD/295/15 thorough knowledge of Bulgarian (BG)

EPSO/AD/296/15 thorough knowledge of German (DE)

EPSO/AD/297/15 thorough knowledge of Croatian (HR)

EPSO/AD/298/15 thorough knowledge of English (EN) or Irish (GA)

EPSO/AD/299/15 thorough knowledge of Lithuanian (LT)

EPSO/AD/300/15 thorough knowledge of Slovak (SK)




Language 2



Second language (minimum level required: B2)

A good knowledge of French.
The Court of Justice is a multilingual institution and the language rules under which it operates are defined in its Rules of Procedure. The choice of languages required for the tests reflects the needs of the service.
In the case of language 1, the duties involved require an extensive, in-depth, and up-to-date knowledge of the lawyer’s own national law. This necessarily implies a thorough knowledge of the language, or one of the languages, of the Member State in question.
As regards language 2, which must be French, it is important to stress that the analysis and research duties described in Section II are carried out mainly in French, as that is the working language of the service, and they therefore require a good active and passive command of the spoken and written language.




IV.   ADMISSION TO THE COMPETITION AND SELECTION BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS

1.   Procedure

Initially, compliance with the general and specific conditions is checked on the basis of the information given in your application form. The selection based on qualifications is made on the same basis.






(a)


Your answers to the questions relating to the general and specific conditions are processed to determine whether you can be included in the list of candidates who meet all the conditions for admission to the competition (see Section III).










(b)


The selection board then screens the candidates eligible for the competition to identify those whose qualifications (particularly their diplomas and professional experience) best match the duties and selection criteria set out in this notice. This screening is carried out solely on the basis of the information provided in the ‘Talent Screener’ tab and involves two stages:






—


each selection criterion is weighted between 1 and 3, according to how important the selection board considers it to be,










—


the selection board then examines candidates’ answers and awards 0 to 4 points for each, according to the candidate’s qualifications. The points are then multiplied by the weighting for each question and added together to give an overall score.








The selection board will then draw up a list of candidates in the order of the overall scores awarded. For each competition and grade, the number of candidates invited to the remote interview (4) will be approximately 8,5 times and no more than 9 times the number of successful candidates sought (see Section I.1). This number will be published on EPSO’s website (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/eu-careers.info/).
2.   Selection criteria


When selecting candidates on the basis of their qualifications, the selection board will take account of the following:







1.


The grade obtained when the diploma giving access to the competition was awarded.










2.


Post-graduate qualifications and diplomas in comparative law, international law, or European Union law.










3.


Post-graduate studies in fields of law other than those indicated in point 2 above.










4.


Professional experience relevant for the duties, in particular experience of research into national, comparative, or European Union law, including experience acquired in a legal profession involving research work, such as solicitor, barrister, lawyer, or judge in a court or prosecutor’s office.










5.


Publications in the field of law.




In assessing points 2 and 3, account will be taken of the length of studies normally required to obtain the qualification(s) or diploma(s) in question and the mark or grade obtained. Each qualification or diploma may only be relied on once.
V.   REMOTE INTERVIEW













1.


Invitation






If you are one of the candidates:






—


who, according to the information given in their online application, meet the general and specific conditions listed in Section III,

and











—


who obtained one of the highest scores in the selection based on qualifications,




you will be invited for a remote structured interview in your language 2 (FR). This remote structured interview (part 1) will be linked to a structured interview at the assessment centre (part 2). The two interviews make up test (d), which is intended to assess your specific competencies in the field of law in the light of the duties described and the selection criteria set out in this notice. Your ability to communicate orally in French will also be assessed during the remote interview.
You must reserve a date for the remote interview. This must be done by the deadline notified to you via your EPSO account.










2.


Marking







Specific competencies (test (d) — part 1)

(d) — part 1: interview in the field: marked out of 20.
Pass mark: 10
The interview in the field (test (d) — part 1) is eliminatory, and the mark awarded is added to the marks for the other assessment centre tests to give the final mark.
(d) — part 1: oral communication in French: marked out of 10.
Pass mark: 7
The test of oral communication in French is eliminatory, but the mark awarded does not count towards the final mark for the assessment centre tests.

If you do not obtain the pass mark for oral communication in French, your specific competencies will not be assessed.





The selection board will then draw up a list of candidates in the order of the marks awarded for the interview in the field. For each competition and grade, the number of candidates invited to the assessment centre (5) will not exceed 3 times the number of successful candidates sought (see Section I.1) (6). This number will be published on EPSO’s website (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/eu-careers.info/).
VI.   ASSESSMENT CENTRE













1.


Invitation






If you obtain one of the highest marks in the interview in the field, you will be invited to the assessment centre, which will normally be held in Luxembourg over the course of two days
 (7).

If you are invited to the assessment centre, you must bring your full application file with you, including supporting documents for your diplomas and professional experience (8).

For more details: see point 2.1.7 of the General rules governing open competitions.










2.


Assessment centre






You will sit three types of assessment tests, the content of which is validated by the selection board.






—




Your reasoning ability
 will be assessed by means of:






(a)


a verbal reasoning test;










(b)


a numerical reasoning test;










(c)


an abstract reasoning test.














—




Your specific competencies
 in the field of European Union and national law will be assessed by means of:






(d) — part 2:


a structured interview on your competencies in the field;










(e)


a case study on an area of European Union law together with an analysis of legal issues relating in particular to your own national law.














—




Your general competencies

 (9) will be assessed by means of:






(e)


a case study on an area of European Union law together with an analysis of legal issues relating in particular to the candidate’s own national law;










(f)


a group exercise;










(g)


a structured interview.








Please note that your ability to communicate in written French will be assessed throughout test (e).










3.


Languages






Language 1 for tests (a), (b) and (c)
Language 2 (fr) for tests (d), (e), (f) and (g)





Each general competency will be tested as follows:









 



Case study




Group exercise




Structured interview





Analysis and problem-solving



x




x



 




Communicating



x



 



x





Delivering quality and results



x



 



x





Learning and development


 



x




x





Prioritising and organising



x




x



 




Resilience


 



x




x





Working with others


 



x




x





Leadership


 



x




x




















4.


Marking







Reasoning ability







(a)


Verbal: marked out of 20;










(b)


Numerical: marked out of 10;










(c)


Abstract: marked out of 10.




Tests (a), (b) and (c) are not eliminatory, but the marks awarded will be added to the marks for the other assessment centre tests.

Specific competencies ((d) — part 2, and (e))

(d) — part 2: marked out of 40.
Pass mark: 20
The mark obtained in test (d) — part 1 will be added to the mark for part 2 to obtain the final mark for test (d).
Marked out of 60
Pass mark: an aggregate of 30 for parts 1 and 2.






(e)


Marked out of 60.
Pass mark: 30










(e)


Written communication in French: Marked out of 10.
Pass mark: 7




The test of written communication in French is eliminatory, but the mark awarded does not count towards the final mark for the assessment centre tests.

General competencies: (e), (f) and (g)

Marked out of 80 for all general competencies (10 per competency)
Pass mark:
3 for each competency and

an aggregate of 40 for all 8 general competencies




VII.   VERIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION GIVEN BY CANDIDATES

Once the assessment tests have been marked, the information given by candidates in their online applications is verified against the supporting documents they have submitted; this is done by EPSO for the general conditions, and by the selection board for the specific conditions.
Applications will be verified for candidates who have passed all the assessment centre tests with the highest aggregate marks, in descending order. Those candidates must also have passed the test of oral and written communication in French. Verification will continue until the number of candidates who actually meet all the eligibility conditions reaches the number that can be placed on the reserve lists. The files of candidates below that cut-off point are not examined.
In assessing qualifications, supporting documents will be taken into account only to confirm the information already given under the ‘Talent Screener’ tab. If verification shows that the information given is not borne out by the appropriate supporting documents, candidates will be disqualified.
VIII.   RESERVE LISTS













1.


Candidates placed on the reserve list






The selection board will place your name on the reserve list:






—


if you pass tests (a) to (g) with one of the highest aggregate marks and if you also pass the tests of oral and written communication in French (see number of successful candidates, Section I.1) (10),










—



and if your supporting documents show that you meet all the eligibility requirements (see Section III).














2.


Classification






A list will be drawn up for each competition and grade, with names appearing in alphabetical order.






(1)  Any reference in this notice to a person of the male sex must be deemed also to constitute a reference to a person of the female sex.

(2)  You will be asked to give your consent during the online application process.

(3)  See the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-cefr

(4)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be invited to the remote interview.

(5)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be invited to the assessment centre.

(6)  Candidates who are not invited to the assessment centre will be sent the results of their assessment and the weighting applied by the selection board to each question.

(7)  Organisational constraints may make it necessary to hold the reasoning tests in centres in the Member States, separately from the other assessment centre tests.

(8)  You will be notified in good time via your EPSO account of the date when you have to attend.

(9)  These competencies are defined in point 1.2 of the General rules governing open competitions.

(10)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be placed on the reserve list.